David Beckham's colourful claim that football is in the DNA of every Englishman was part of the most polished, professional and passionate of bid presentations from the countries who wanted to stage the 2018 World Cup, but it was not enough to prevent Russia winning the vote, while Qatar were picked as the shock hosts for 2022.Beckham was still unable to bring the greatest show on earth back to England - amid the fears that he and the rest of the bid team had been forced to pay the ultimate price for Panorama and the Sunday Times' revelations about corruption within the Fifa Executive Committee.
Beckham was sparked an emotional response from his audience when he spoke on the first anniversary of his grandfather's death and detailed what it would mean to every Englishman to stage the finals again for the first time since 1966.
It was one element that made England's bid presentation by far the best. Slick and making the most of its heavyweight ambassadors - David Cameron, Prince William and Beckham - so much so that Sunderland chairman Niall Quinn claimed that "even the dogs in the street in Zurich were saying what a great bid England had".
England received only two votes in the first round, failing to get Jack Warner's Conacacaf vote as Russia won by a knockout in the second round when it was suggested 24 hours earlier that there might be no more than one vote in it. Beckham said: "Obviously it is disappointing not coming away from Switzerland with the 2018 World Cup. The bid team can be very proud of all they did.
"Everyone told us that we had one of the best, if not the best presentations, but we have to congratulate Russia and Qatar and I am sure they will do Fifa proud.
"At the end of the day you feel disappointed when you lose something. There was a lot of hard work and a belief that we would win, but the bid team could not have done any more."
Winning the technical battle was not enough to win the political battle, despite England's bid being praised for being "excellent and remarkable" by Fifa president Sepp Blatter, but Beckham would not lay blame on the adverse media coverage in England.
"I don't know what effect that had, you will have to ask the delegates that. I can't answer that for them. I saw our media right behind us throughout and that has not changed," said Beckham.
But Sunderland chairman Quinn, whose Stadium of Light ground would have staged part of the tourmanent disagrees and said: "Politics will come into it and we might never know what other forces were at play. If people think the media expose was in the public interest they should come up to Sunderland and explain to all the disappointed people."
Hugh Robertson,the Sports Minister, wants a weekend to go away and digest what happened to the England bid, but believes it is too soon to start campaigning for changing the format of how who stages the World Cup.
"We are very disappointed. We had a fantastic bid and I don't understand how it lost. We have to accept Sepp Blatter's explanation that they want to take the World Cup to two very new frontiers," said Robertson.
Martin Peters was part of the England side successful in 1966 and wonders whether he will be around long enough to see England ever stage the tournament again.
"I don't think we will ever find out what happened. I am gutted. All the boys of '66 would have loved to have the tournament back in England. I am really, really upset, but I feel most sorry for the supporters, because I can remember what they were like in '66 and it was incredible." he said.
The fact that Fifa have also plumped for Qatar to host the 2022 finals, ahead of USA and Australia, has raised further doubts over the politics of the decision making and whether the 22-man executive committee voting behind closed doors has to change.
The Qatar bid was rated as "high risk" by the technical evaluation and doctors have warned Fifa that players would not be able to cope with with 40 to 50 degree temperatures in June.
And golfer Ian Poulter, who has experience of playing golf in such searing heat, was immediately on Twitter saying: "Players will be dropping like flies."
However, there are claims from Qatar that all stadiums will be fitted with climate control systems that will keep the temperatures at 28 degrees.
There are suggestions that Fifa are now planning to release the details of the vote, despite the fact they said before the voting took place that it would remain a secret ballot.
But there is a growing concern that 22 men should no longer be allowed to take non-transparent decisions about such a multi-billion dollar industry and that the system should be altered for future tournaments.
